Hong Kong retains world’s second largest billionaire count

Hong Kong remained the world’s second largest billionaire city in 2025 with 106 billionaires, trailing only New York, even as the SAR’s billionaire population slipped slightly, making it one of just two cities among the world’s top 15 to register a fall, according to Altrata’s Billionaire Census 2026.

Why did Hong Kong’s billionaire count fall?

Altrata attributed the dip to persistent weakness in Hong Kong’s real estate sector combined with comparatively low exposure to AI-driven wealth gains, which powered strong growth elsewhere.

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Overall billionaire net worth in the city still trended upward despite the population dip. Hong Kong also stood out because 64.2 percent of its billionaires were born outside the city, the second highest non-local share among major wealth markets after Singapore’s 66.7 percent, reflecting Hong Kong’s role as a preferred base for wealthy individuals from mainland China and elsewhere.

How did mainland China perform?

Mainland China’s billionaire population grew 13 percent to 363 individuals, its strongest growth in five years and enough to keep it in second place globally by country, behind the United States and ahead of Germany. Altrata credited targeted government stimulus, rising investment in technology and advanced manufacturing, and firm export demand for offsetting the drag from US tariff disruption. Weakness in the residential property market persisted for a fifth consecutive year, the report’s one notable downside for China.

Beijing ranked as mainland China’s highest placed city on the global list, in seventh place overall, ahead of Shenzhen, the only other Chinese city to feature among the top 15.

How does this fit the global picture?

Worldwide, the billionaire population reached an all time high of 3,795 individuals in 2025, up 8.2 percent, the fastest annual growth in five years. Combined wealth rose 12.8 percent to a record US$15.1 trillion. The United States led all countries with 1,265 billionaires, more than three times China’s total, followed by Germany’s 221, the fastest growing of the top 15 countries at 20 percent.